Faculty: Terry Young

This article identifies and explains the various elements of book design and illustrates how teachers can call attention to these elements to help students appreciate and comprehend the various aspects of nonfiction texts. Examples from the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction finalists are used to illustrate each design element. Additionally, through an interview with the book’s designer, Roberta Pressel, we explore how design elements contribute richly to both aesthetic and efferent reading experiences in Philip Hoose’s (2012) Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95.

Read-alouds of picturebook biographies offer children engaging windows into the lives and work of famous (and sometimes not-so-famous) mathematicians to observe and discuss their ways of learning and doing mathematics—their mathematical practices. The Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs), although generally embodied in the work of successful mathematicians throughout the ages, were only recently identified and prescribed for US mathematics curricula. The authors provide a rationale for using the context of story to introduce the SMPs to elementary students and share picturebook Read-Aloud Lesson Ideas as samples for inviting discussions about selected Standards. Three figures list additional biographies in the categories of Computer Science and Coding, Space Exploration, and Other Related Mathematics Fields and provide an analysis of two selected SMPs for each book.

Love children's books? Anxious to see your children or students develop a love for books and reading? Then this app is tailor made for you. Need a good mystery for your ten-year-old? Are you teaching a unit on dinosaurs and need an exciting selection of dinosaur titles for your class? Or is your granddaughter fascinated by fire engines, and so you are after a great picture book about them for her birthday? Kid's Book Finder quickly places more than 28,000 fully annotated children's book titles at your fingertips, with new titles being added regularly. Searching can be as easy or detailed as you wish. In moments, you can produce an annotated list of alphabet books for pre-school children. Or a selection of books about space flight for students ages 10-12. Or a list of vampire novels for young adults. Or poetry books that have won a John Newbery or Newbery Honor Book Award. Well-known professors of children's literature, Drs. Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs, have spent years compiling this diverse list of children's book titles. They have taught university-level children's literature courses for a combined total of more than sixty years. Over those years, they also have written numerous professional articles and books about literature for young readers, including their popular textbook Children's Literature, Briefly.

To craft engaging nonfiction prose, young writers should focus on a specific idea or concept of interest and use acclaimed children's books as mentor texts to help them understand options for developing their ideas. In this article, the authors provide examples of high‐quality children's nonfiction for exploring various formats and text structures and for developing effective expressive voice and rich language—all craft techniques associated with excellent expository informational writing and consistent with the Common Core State Standards. Specific discussion questions and activities are included.

This brief introduction to children’s literature genres leaves time to actually read children’s books. Written on the assumption that the focus of a children’s literature course should be on the actual books that children read, the authors first wrote this book in 1996 as a “textbook for people who don’t like children’s literature textbooks.” Today it serves as an overview to shed light on the essentials of children’s literature and how to use it effectively with young readers, from PreK to 8^th grade. The authors use an enjoyable, conversational style to achieve their goal of providing a practical overview of children’s books that offers a framework and background information, while keeping the spotlight on the books themselves.

The previous edition was reviewed by 5 anonymous reviewers who made recommendations for changes to the 7th edition beyond updating the content.

Individuals with disabilities have been widely neglected in children's nonfiction books. When these books are sued in inclusive classrooms, students with disabilities benefit as they reflect on their own needs, challenges, strengths, and potential victories. Their peers better understand circumstances of these classmates' lives. Further understanding and compassion come with deeper thought and vicarious involvement. This capter discusses current trends, selection criteria, specific recommended books, and suggestions for deepening your readers' involvement with nonfiction literature by and about people with disabilities.